Beijing: The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country's largest lender, posted a profit of 138.5 billion yuan (USD 22.3 billion), registering a year-on-year increase of 12.4 percent.

ICBC's net interest income climbed 5.8 percent from a year earlier to 215.9 billion yuan while the net fee and commission income grew 23 percent to 67.4 billion yuan in January-June, the Bank said Thursday in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Bank of China (BOC), the country's fourth biggest lender, reported on Thursday that its first-half net profit was up 12.9 percent to top 80 billion yuan.

Industry-wide, combined net profits grew 13.8 percent to 753 billion yuan in the first six months this year, according to data calculated by the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the country's banking regulator.